MAN IN THE NEWS: Elias Hrawi; An Earthy Politician Who Makes Both Ends Meet

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The newly elected President of Lebanon, Elias Hrawi, comes from a wealthy family of landlords in Zahle, a Christian town in the Bekaa, where the bulk of Syria's 40,000 troops in Lebanon are deployed.

Mr. Hrawi, 64 years old, is a member of the independent Maronite Catholic bloc of Parliament. The bloc consists of nine Maronite Catholic legislators who tried to steer clear of the Christian militias and have maintained good relationships with the Muslims and with Syria.

He is to replace Rene Moawad, who was assassinated on Wednesday by a remote-controlled bomb after only 17 days in office. The unwritten political tradition of Lebanon requires that the President always be a Maronite Catholic, while the Prime Minister is a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of Parliament a Shiite.

Though Maronites, both Mr. Moawad and Mr. Hrawi (his full name is pronounced ay-LEE-as HWRA-wee) come from areas outside the Christian heartland dominated first by militias and now by Gen. Michel Aoun, the army commander who considers himself the legitimate president. Mr. Moawad came from Zgharta in the far north, an area under the control of the local warlord, former President Suleiman Frangieh, who is close to President Hafez al-Assad of Syria. An Earthy Style

Mr. Moawad's assassination was seen as an attack on the peace plan agreed upon by Christian and Muslim legislators at Taif, Saudi Arabia, last month under the auspices of the Arab League. The plan called for political restructuring to reduce the power held by Christians, who make up the minority population in Lebanon, and increase Muslim power.

But some groups, especially the Shiite Muslims protested that the plan did not give them enough power. General Aoun and his hard-line Christian supporters vowed to resist the plan, saying it gave no deadline for the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

In the Lebanese family tradition, Mr. Harwi inherited political power from his brother, George, winning his parliamentary seat from Zahle, about 26 miles northeast of Beirut, in 1972. He was named Minister of Public Works in 1982, in the term of former President Amin Gemayel. He Was Married Twice

Mr. Hrawi was born in Sept. 4, 1925. He was married twice, and the three children from his first marriage, Rima, George and Roy, are all married. Mr. Hrawi's second wife is Mona Jammal, a Palestinian from Jerusalem, and they have two daughters, Zalfa and Roula.

Mr. Harwi played a significant role in ending the 1980 siege of his hometown by the Syrian Army, which attempted to drive the Christian pro-Israeli militia, the Lebanese Forces, away from their western borders.

The siege continued for three months, but Mr. Hrawi mediated its end by convincing the Christian guerrillas to evacuate the city in return for guarantees that the Syrian Army would not enter Zahle.

Mr. Hrawi is known to make both ends meet in politics. The seizure of Zahle brought him close to the pro-Israeli Christian commander, Bashir Gemayel, Syria's No. 1 enemy. But the geographical location of his hometown near Syria demanded that he maintain good relations with Damascus. Outlawed by Aoun

Although Mr. Hrawi did not receive higher education beyond his secondary schooling, he is a successful businessman and a wealthy landowner with keen interest in agriculture.

Immediately after being elected Lebanon's 10th President today, Mr. Hrawi pledged to press on with the Arab League accord, saying, ''I promise the nation to follow the same path that the martyred President Moawad planned for national unity.''

Mr. Hrawi, a former Minister of Agriculture, is not identified with Syria although he comes from an area now under control of Syrian troops. He and his colleagues in their independent Maronite bloc had kept on good terms both with General Aoun and the Muslim Prime Minister, Selim al-Hoss.

Mr. Herawi has no power base other than the following he has had from his own bloc of Parliament. Comments From Lebanese

Members of the large Lebanese community living in exile in Paris said today that they did not consider Mr. Hrawi to have the same stature and independence as Mr. Moawad. Some said the appointment would strengthen the Maronite front led by General Aoun because Mr. Hrawi would be seen as a rubber-stamp for Syria.

Mr. Hrawi had the support of a large number of Muslim voters when he was elected to Parliament in April 1972. But the character of his constituency in the Bekaa changed dramatically when the fundamentalist Muslim Shiites rose to power in that area under the leadership of the pro-Iranian Party of God. The group does not approve either of Mr. Hrawi or of any other Maronite member of Parliament.

In his political career, Mr. Hrawi always steered clear of controversy. When talking to the media in the past, he ducked controversial questions, answering in general terms.

Although his family is prominent in eastern Lebanon, it is not as powerful as that of Mr. Moawad's. Mr. Hrawi will have to draw strength from the Arab League, Syria and his supporters in the Parliament.

He faces the same daunting job that his predecessor had faced, namely getting rid of General Aoun. The political crisis is not likely to ease if General Aoun does not step aside to make room for the new Government.

A version of this article appears in print on November 25, 1989, on Page 1001004 of the National edition with the headline: MAN IN THE NEWS: Elias Hrawi; An Earthy Politician Who Makes Both Ends Meet. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe